The tip of a green felt-tip penA box of colored felt-tip pens (made by Caran d'Ache)Marker pen
A marker pen, fine liner, marking pen, felt-tip pen, felt pen, flowmarker, sign pen (in South Korea), vivid (in New Zealand), flomaster (in Russia), texta (in Australia), sketch pen (in South Asia), koki (in South Africa) or simply marker is a pen which has its own ink source and a tip made of porous, pressed fibers such as felt.[1] A marker pen consists of a container (glass, aluminum or plastic) and a core of an absorbent material that holds the ink. The upper part of the marker contains the nib that was made in earlier times of a hard felt material, and a cap to prevent the marker from drying out.
Until the early 1990s, the most common solvents that were used for the ink in permanent markers were toluene and xylene. These two substances are both harmful[2][3] and characterized by a very strong smell. Today, the ink is usually made on the basis of alcohols (e.g. 1-Propanol, 1-butanol, diacetone alcohol and cresols).
Markers may be waterproof, dry-erase, wet-erase (e.g. transparency markers), or permanent.
History
Lee Newman patented a felt-tipped marking pen in 1910.[4] In 1926, Benjamin Paskach patented a "fountain paintbrush",[5] as he called it, which consisted of a sponge-tipped handle containing various paint colors. Markers of this sort began to be popularized with the sale of Sidney Rosenthal's Magic Marker (1953), which consisted of a glass tube of ink with a felt wick. By 1958, use of felt-tipped markers was commonplace for a variety of applications such as lettering, labeling, and creating posters.[6] The year 1962 brought the development of the modern fiber-tipped pen (in contrast to the marker, which generally has a thicker point) by Yukio Horie of the Tokyo Stationery Company (which later became Pentel). In 1993 the Copic Sketch markers were released, popularising markers for professional illustration.
Parts
The marker reservoir, which holds the ink, is formed from polyester. The "felt" used for the tip is usually made of highly compressed synthetic fibers or porous ceramics. Toluol and xylol were used as solvents for the dye and are still used for the indelible ink in permanent markers. Due to their toxicity, they have often been replaced with less critical substances such as alkyl or cyclic alkylene carbonates (like propylene carbonate) in other types of markers. Water content of the ink can be up to 10%. Besides solvents and the dye itself, the ink may contain additives (e.g. nonylphenylpolyglycol ether, alkylpoly-glycol ether, fatty acid polyglycol ester, or fatty alcohol ethoxalates) and preservatives (e.g. 2-Phenylphenol and its sodium salt, 6-acetoxy-2,4-dimethyl-m-dioxane).[7][8][9]
Permanent markers are porous pens that can write on surfaces such as glass, plastic, wood, metal, and stone. The marks made by such pens are however, not permanent on some plastics like Teflon, polypropylene etc., and can be erased easily. The ink is generally resistant to rubbing and water, and can last for many years. Depending on the surface and the marker used, however, the marks can often be removed with either vigorous scrubbing or chemicals such as acetone.
Highlighters are a form of marker used to highlight and cover over existing writing while still leaving the writing readable. They are generally produced in neon colours to allow for colour coding, as well as attract buyers to them.
A whiteboard marker, or a dry-erase marker in some locations, uses an erasable ink, made to be used on a slick (or matte-finished), non-porous writing surface, for temporary writing with overhead projectors, whiteboards, glass and the like. They are designed so that the user is able to easily erase the marks using either a damp cloth, tissue, handkerchief, baby wipe, or other easily cleaned or disposable items. Generally, people use fabrics to do so, but others use items like paper, clothing items, some even use their bare hands to wipe it clear. The erasable ink does not contain the toxic chemical compounds xylene and/or toluene as have been used in permanent markers, being less of a risk to being used as a recreational drug.
Wet-wipe markers are another version that are used on overhead projectors, signboards, whiteboards, and other non-porous surfaces.
Security marker
Special "security" markers, with fluorescent but otherwise invisible inks, are used for marking valuables in case of burglary. The owner of a stolen, but recovered item can be determined by using ultraviolet light to make the writing visible.
Election marker
Marker pens with election ink (an indelible dye and often a photosensitive agent such as silver nitrate) used to mark the finger, and especially the cuticle, of voters in elections in order to prevent electoral fraud such as double voting. The stain stays visible for a week or two and may also be used to assist in vaccinations.
Porous point pen
A porous point pen contains a point that is made of some porous material such as felt or ceramic. Draftsman's pens usually have a ceramic tip since this wears well and does not broaden when pressure is applied while writing.
Dialectal variations
The use of the terms "marker" and "felt-tipped pen" varies significantly among different parts of the world. This is because most English dialects contain words for particular types of marker, often generic brand names, but there are no such terms in widespread international use.
Asia
In some parts of India, water-based felt-tip pens are referred to as "sketch pens" because they are mainly used for sketching and writing on paper or cardboard. The permanent ink felt-tip markers are referred to as just "markers". In Malaysia and Singapore, marker pens are simply called markers. In the Philippines, a marker is commonly referred to as a "Pentel pen", regardless of brand. In Indonesia, a marker pen is referred to as "Spidol". In South Korea and Japan, marker pens are referred to as "sign pens", "name pens", or "felt pens". Also, permanent pens are also referred to as "Magic" (from a famous pen brand name). In Iran, felt-tip pens are referred to as "Magic" or "Highlight" regardless of its brand.
Australia
In Australia, the term "marker" usually refers only to large-tip markers, and the terms "felt-tip" and "felt pen" usually refer only to fine-tip markers. Markers in Australia are often generically called "texta", after a brand name of a type of permanent marker. Some variation in naming convention occurs between the states, for example in Queensland the brand name "nikko" has been commonly adopted.
New Zealand
The generic terms for fine-tipped markers are usually "felt pen" ,"felt tip pen" or "felts". Large permanent markers are called 'vivids' after a popular brand sold there, the Bic Stephens Vivid
South Africa
In South Africa, the term "Koki" is used for both felt pens and markers, by South Africans, as well as the standard "marker".
In the United States, the word "marker" is used as well as "magic marker", the latter being a genericized trademark. The word "sharpie" is also now used as a genericized trademark; Sharpie is a popular brand of permanent markers used for labelling. Markers are also sometimes referred to as felt-pens or felts in some parts of Canada.
A ballpoint pen, also known as a biro, ball pen, or dot pen, is a pen that dispenses ink over a metal ball at its point, i.e., over a "ball point". The metals commonly used are steel, brass, or tungsten carbide. The design was conceived and developed as a cleaner and more reliable alternative to dip pens and fountain pens, and it is now the world's most-used writing instrument; millions are manufactured and sold daily. It has influenced art and graphic design and spawned an artwork genre.
Invisible ink, also known as security ink or sympathetic ink, is a substance used for writing, which is invisible either on application or soon thereafter, and can later be made visible by some means, such as heat or ultraviolet light. Invisible ink is one form of steganography.
A pen is a common writing instrument that applies ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Early pens such as reed pens, quill pens, dip pens and ruling pens held a small amount of ink on a nib or in a small void or cavity that had to be periodically recharged by dipping the tip of the pen into an inkwell. Today, such pens find only a small number of specialized uses, such as in illustration and calligraphy. Reed pens, quill pens and dip pens, which were used for writing, have been replaced by ballpoint pens, rollerball pens, fountain pens and felt or ceramic tip pens. Ruling pens, which were used for technical drawing and cartography, have been replaced by technical pens such as the Rapidograph. All of these modern pens contain internal ink reservoirs, such that they do not need to be dipped in ink while writing.
A blackboard or a chalkboard is a reusable writing surface on which text or drawings are made with sticks of calcium sulphate or calcium carbonate, known, when used for this purpose, as chalk. Blackboards were originally made of smooth, thin sheets of black or dark grey slate stone.
A whiteboard is a glossy, usually white surface for making non-permanent markings. Whiteboards are analogous to blackboards, but with a smoother surface allowing for rapid marking and erasing of markings on their surface. The popularity of whiteboards increased rapidly in the mid-1990s and they have become a fixture in many offices, meeting rooms, school classrooms, public events and other work environments.
A permanent marker or indelible marker is a type of marker pen that is used to create permanent or semi-permanent writing on an object.
An eraser is an article of stationery that is used for removing marks from paper or skin. Erasers have a rubbery consistency and come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. Some pencils have an eraser on one end. Erasers come in all kinds of shapes and colors. Less expensive erasers are made from synthetic rubber and synthetic soy-based gum, but more expensive or specialized erasers are made from vinyl, plastic, or gum-like materials.
A highlighter, also called a fluorescent pen, is a type of writing device used to bring attention to sections of text by marking them with a vivid, translucent colour. A typical highlighter is fluorescent yellow, with the color coming from pyranine. Different compounds, such as rhodamines are used for other colours.
A paint marker is a type of marker pen that is used to create permanent writing on a variety of surfaces such as paper, metal, stone, rubber, plastic, and glass.
Pentel Co., Ltd. is a privately-held Japanese manufacturing company of stationery products. The name comes from one of their first widely known products and is a portmanteau of the English words pen and pastel. Pentel is also the inventor of non-permanent marker technology. Most Pentel products are manufactured in Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Mexico, and France.
An interactive whiteboard (IWB), also known as interactive board or smart board, is a large interactive display board in the form factor of a whiteboard. It can either be a standalone touchscreen computer used independently to perform tasks and operations, or a connectable apparatus used as a touchpad to control computers from a projector. They are used in a variety of settings, including classrooms at all levels of education, in corporate board rooms and work groups, in training rooms for professional sports coaching, in broadcasting studios, and others.
Sharpie is a brand of writing implements manufactured by Newell Brands, a public company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Originally designating a single permanent marker, the Sharpie brand has been widely expanded and can now be found on a variety of previously unrelated permanent and non-permanent pens and markers formerly marketed under other brands. This article focuses on the legacy Sharpie permanent marker line.
Roller ball pens or roll pens are pens which use ball point writing mechanisms with water-based liquid or gelled ink, as opposed to the oil-based viscous inks found in ballpoint pens. These less viscous inks, which tend to saturate more deeply and more widely into paper than other types of ink, give roller ball pens their distinctive writing qualities. The writing point is a tiny ball, usually 0.5 or 0.7 mm in diameter, that transfers the ink from the reservoir onto the paper as the pen moves.
An ink eraser is an instrument used to scrape away or chemically bleach ink from a writing surface. This is a more involved process than removing pencil markings. Pencil marks can be gradually adhered to natural rubber fragments by rubbing the mark with a pencil eraser Ink, however readily penetrates the fibers of most papers and is therefore more difficult to extract by mechanical action.
Wet-wipe markers or wet-erase markers are a type of writing implement, which are used primarily on overhead transparencies, tablets at restaurants, and office calendars. Other uses include writing on mirrors, chalkboards, plastics, ceramics, glass windows and other non-porous surfaces. The contents of these markers are water, resin, and titanium dioxide.
A fudepen (筆ペン), also known as a brush pen, is a cartridge-based writing implement used in East Asian calligraphy; it is, in essence, an ink brush analogue to a fountain pen.
Kuretake is a Japanese manufacturing company of writing implements. The firm began its activities manufacturing sumi ink and brushes and then expanded its range of products, producing mainly pens.
Newell Custom Writing Instruments is an American manufacturing company of stationery products. It is a division of Newell Brands, producing writing implements, in its plant of Atlanta, Georgia.
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